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Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Seasons (February 18th and 19th at the Cleveland Cinematheqe)

[SEASONS screens Saturday February 18th at 7:10 pm and Sunday February 19th at 8:25 pm at the Cleveland Cinematheque.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

Using the seasons as metaphor for the larger passage of
time, SEASONS depicts in its own
poetic way how, post ice-age, wildlife has moved from a vibrant spring
("The Golden Age of the Forest", the film's narrator proclaims in
subtitled French) and summer to a more perilous fall and winter. The villains
responsible for the decline of animal life, perhaps not too surprisingly, are
us.

To that end, along with the nature footage there are some
staged moments of human/animal encounters that help illustrate the film's
thesis. At first these relations are relatively benign, as a young boy feeds a
wolf. But as humans expand their territory and raze forests to replace them
with fields for growing crops, wildlife becomes displaced. Hunting, industrialization,
wars, and other human developments don't benefit the wildlife much, either. This
is not the movie to see if you want to feel good about being human.

The message is mostly kept in the background for the first
half, though. This affords viewers the opportunity to simply sit back and enjoy
the wildlife footage, with only occasional narration to put the sights into
some kind of context. This portion of the film, though it will certainly be
compelling to wildlife enthusiasts, will likely come off as shapeless and
meandering to many viewers, this one included.

From a cinematic standpoint SEASONS doesn't gel together until it starts laying a guilt trip on
humanity in its second half. But while it does help give the film some
direction, it also comes across as simultaneously heavy-handed and strangely
abstract. Sometimes, it feels like humanity is being given a (probably
deserved) harsh dressing down. At other times, it's unclear what point, if any,
we're supposed to take away. Also detrimental to the overall effect are the
scenes with human actors in various period outfits that often feel kind of
cheesy.

Still, the nature photography is probably enough to draw an
audience, and as with co-directors Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud's
previous films WINGED MIGRATION and OCEANS, that part is stunning. The
ample, up-close-and-personal footage of wolves, wild horses, lynxes, buffalo,
and various smaller critters should be more than enough to keep most animal aficionados
happy. 2 ½ out of 4 stars.